Man seen in video being punched by Santa Ana police will not face charges in that arrest
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Set us as preferred A man who is seen in a social media video being punched by Santa Ana police officers will not face criminal charges in connection with that arrest, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.Florentino Lopez, 28, claimed officers used excessive force when they arrested him earlier this month.After the incident, he was charged with resisting arrest and smoking near a school and was cited for being a pedestrian on a roadway, according to Lopez’s attorney, John Kremer.An undated video circulating on social media shows two Santa Ana police officers slamming Lopez to the ground, striking him while he uses his hands to protect himself and repeatedly yells out, “Lawsuit!”The incident sparked public outrage and prompted the police department to launch an internal investigation.
The department has not identified the officers.Video of man thrown to the ground and beaten by officers during his recent arrest.(Alexzander Lopez)A spokesperson for the department did not respond to a request for comment.City officials said during a council meeting last week that they planned to hire an independent investigator to review the officers’ body camera footage.
Kremer said the Orange County district attorney dropped the charges in connection with his arrest on Tuesday without explanation.“At this juncture,” he said, “I will respectfully refrain from engaging in speculation as to the prosecution’s reasons or motives for their decision to dismiss the felony case against Mr.Lopez.”In an email response to The Times, Kimberly Edds, spokesperson for the district attorney, said prosecutors were instead pursuing a probation violation against Lopez.“Based on the totality of the evidence in the case, including the body worn camera video, we determined that pursuing the probation violation was the most...